Awakening Blood
by san121
Summary: Before even naming their new store, Bea and Dante are invited to a "party" by a strange man and, according to the man, Vergil. The two head out as a tower rises from hell, the "party" center, neither knowing what will happen in the tower and how it will effect their future.
1. Chapter 1

_You've heard of it haven't you? The legend of Sparda. When I was young, my father would tell me stories about it._

The image of a man in red, running through the rain and swinging a sword appears.

 _Long ago, in ancient times, a demon rebelled against his own kind for the sake of the human race._

The image fades, only to be replaced by the same man charging then turning, slicing though rain drops nearby.

 _With his sword, he shut the portal to the demonic realm and sealed the evil entities off from our human world._

That image is replaced with a man in blue, swinging around a sword and spinning with the momentum.

 _But since he was a demon himself, his power was also trapped on the other side. I never believed it._

The images fade. Suddenly, two men appeared, fighting each other with swords drawn. Two men, one face. The two mirrored each other if not for their choice of color and blade. The red one easily handles a large sword while his blue twin moves just as easily with a katana.

 _I thought it was just a child's fairy tale. But I discovered that this so-called legend wasn't a myth at all._

The twins barely dodge the other's attack before moving in for another attack.

 _Sparda existed. How do I know? Well…_

The twins' blades clash over and over in the pouring rain, sending off sparks despite the downpour.

 _I met the sons of Sparda._

The man in red swings back with all of his weight, his white hair plastered against his forehead.

 _-Both of them._

The man in blue huffs as his katana is sent back, bringing it back at an upward angle as he ignores his own white bangs.

 _Though the same blood of their father flowed through their veins, the two battled each other fiercely like arch enemies._

The twins swing and swing their blades, blocking and parrying, sparks flying out and raindrops splitting in half. Suddenly the two clash blades, pushing against each other's blade in a silent challenge. The water falls even faster around them, finally connecting to the ground with a splash.

 _It seemed as if they derived some sort of twisted pleasure from this brotherly fighting._

The two push and push, the metal where the blades meet heating enough to softly glow. Suddenly, the man in blue pushes up, unarming the man in red and sending his sword flying while throwing the man in red off balance. As the blade falls, it reflects its master lunging at the man in blue as he pulls back his katana. Once the sword lands, the man in blue drives his katana through his twin's stomach. Blood falls as the twins look each other in the eyes once more, one set of blue cool and collected, while the other set of blue are wide in horror and confusion. He then withdraws his katana, once again throwing his twin off balance before falling into the fallen blood.

 _But in the end, only one was left standing._

The blue twin pushes his bangs back, the water holding them in place as he collects his brother's sword. He gives his fallen brother one final look before turning to leave, seeming to not notice the red twin's twitching hand. Just as the man in red attempts to rise, the man in blue turns with his twins own sword, lunging at him as a woman's scream fills the air.

The telephone rings, jolting a young woman awake from her nap on the ragged sofa.

"Bwah?!" she sputters, long strands of dark brown hair flying into her amber eyes as she flails on the couch. Blinking, she realizes where she is as the telephone continues to ring. The door to further in the shop is kicked open by a young man wearing only boots and jeans, ruffling his hair to get all the water out after his shower. He strides over to a knocked over chair and kicks it upright, sitting down and kicking his feet on to the desk. The phone's handset flies through the air, with the young man not even looking as he catches it and answers, "Sorry, not open for business yet." He tosses the handset back onto the holder as the woman stands up and stretches.

"We haven't even picked a name for this joint and we're already getting calls," he comments, grabbing a slice of pizza.

"As nice as that sounds, you should have listened to the call. What if that was important?" the woman asks with a frown. The man huffs out a laughs and takes a bite of the pizza, brushing white bangs out of light blue eyes.

"You worry too much, Bea. Keep it up and you'll get wrinkles," he comments. Bea huffs and puts her hands on her hips as the store door opens. Bea turns and watches as a bald, scarred man enters the shop and walks calmly up to the desk.

"You a customer too?" the young man asks, not even looking at the other man. When the bald man doesn't answer, the younger man finally looks at him with a bit of a frown.

"Well, if you want to use the bathroom, help yourself. The toilet's in the back," the young man continues, Bea watching the bald man warily as he leisurely walks to the pool table.

"Is your name Dante? Son of Sparda?" the bald man finally asks, brushing his fingers across the wood of the pool table. Bea straightens up, glaring at the man as Dante watches apprehensively.

"Where did you hear that?" Dante demands, playing off his nervousness as Bea starts to move closer to the desk. The man then walks directly in front of the desk, answering, "From your brother." Bea stops, tense and a touch angry, as Dante just continues to watch the man. The man's own eyes slide from Dante's face to the pendant around his neck.

"He sent this invitation for you," the man pauses and turns to Bea, staring straight into her eyes, "and Miss Beatrice. Please accept it." Without any warning, the man flips the desk. Dante jumps and flips onto the desk's side as Bea startles and watches for Dante to land before drawing two long butterfly swords. Dante catches Ivory and aims it at the man, or where he used to be. Bea blinks in confusion, lowering her weapons as Dante raises an eyebrow before standing and holstering Ivory.

"Invitation huh?" he comments, holding his hand out to catch the pizza box and its contents. Bea sighs, running a hand through her hair before pausing and looking up at the ceiling warily as Dante grabs the slice of pizza he was about to eat earlier, dangling it tauntingly over his mouth.

"Dante!" Bea yells as a multitude of Hell Prides jump through the ceiling, stabbing Dante repeatedly with their scythes where he stands. One Hell Pride attempts to do the same with her, only for her to deflect the blow and kick it into the wall. Dante hits one Hell Pride straight in the chest, sending it flying while decapitating it, while Dante catches the head and spins it on a finger. Bea sighs and rolls her eyes as Dante struts over to the record machine, causing all but one Hell Pride to let go of their scythe. Dante kicks off the Hell Pride still clinging to its scythe, picking up the pizza slice along the way. He pulls out the blade in his chest and flings it at the fan on the ceiling, severing the fan from its electrical source and using the falling blades to kill three Hell Prides.

"This party's getting crazy," he starts, pointing his arm into the air. Bea smirks and watches Dante in amusement, pulling out one of her glocks to kill a Hell Pride that was attempting to sneak up on her.

"Let's rock!" Dante exclaims, pressing one of the buttons for his music choice. No noise comes from the record machine. He presses the same button. Still nothing. He then jabs the button twice. No sound.

"Dante," Bea intones warningly, sashaying her way through the crowd. Dante lets out a soft huff before slamming his fist into the top of the machine. The entire machine lights up and music starts playing, getting Dante to bob his head in time with the beat. Sticking the slice of pizza in his mouth, Dante spins around and, using the blade stuck in his arm, decapitates the Hell Pride behind him. From there, he fights his way through a small crowd, drawing Ivory and using it as a deflector before pointing it at the Hell Pride's head and firing. Bea jumps over some Hell Pride, getting two headshots and a body shot from her glock before holstering it and redrawing her butterfly swords. Dancing around the Hell Prides, she lunges in to either decapitate or stab them through before moving on. Dante jumps onto one of the Hell Prides and uses its face as a skateboard, sweeping up Ebony along the way to dual wield his pistols. Spinning on the Hell Pride, Dante fires bullets everywhere, sending a Hell Pride careening into the leg of the pool table and nearly hitting Bea at one point.

"DAMN IT, DANTE!" Bea yells as Dante flies up the now ramped pool table, flipping off his Hell Pride ride and landing on the higher side of the table, sending another Hell Pride into the ceiling and the pool balls flying around him.

"Sorry babe," Dante calls out, firing a bullet into the cue ball. The cue ball then collides with the other balls, colliding with more of the Hell Pride. Bea tosses Rebellion at Dante, who catches the sword and turns to face the pool table. He cuts the table in half and kicks the top half at one Hell Pride and the other half at a different one. Turning back to the room, Dante mutters, "The end? Don't bet on it."

"Duck!" Bea yells. Dante ducks down as Bea jumps over his back, kicking two Hell Prides and stabbing a Hell Lust that just appeared.

"Thanks for the save, sweetheart," Dante coos as he fires at the Hell Lusts and Hell Prides.

"Do you even hear yourself talk? You sound really creepy," Bea calls, deflecting a scythe and decapitating the Hell Pride in a single move.

"No I don't. You don't complain when your Dad calls you sweetheart," Dante counters, grabbing Rebellion and swinging the large blade, cutting through four Hell Prides and a Hell Lust easily.

"That's because I'm his daughter. He obviously means it in a familial way, not a creepy way," Bea argues, huffing as she bends backwards to dodge a scythe. Hooking her leg over the arm of the Hell Lust, which starts screeching as it burns, Bea stays in her half upside-down state to draw her glocks and fire in a semi-circle, into the group of Hell Prides and Hell Lusts.

"What about when Obie says it?" Dante asks, stabbing one of the last Hell Lusts in the face. Bea locks her leg around the Hell Lust's arm and plants her hands, flipping the Hell Lust over and into the floor as she gets her feet under her.

"I usually ignore whatever Obie says because there is nothing he can't make gross," Bea explains with a shrug. Dante hums in understanding, plopping down on the overturned desk. The other fan creaks and groans before dropping in front of Bea, who sighs and walks over to the overturned desk, jumping up to sit beside Dante. The two take in the damage caused by the fight, Dante unimpressed while Bea purses her lips in distaste. Dante idly spins Rebellion on its tip as he continues to look around the room, only stopping when he spots the untouched pizza box. Gripping Rebellion, he hops off the desk and walks toward the box, ignoring Bea's huff and the sound of her crossing her legs. Just as he reaches down for another slice, a Hell Lust steps on the entire pizza and moves to attack Dante. Dante calmly shoots the Hell Lust in the face, getting a snort from Bea.

"I told you something was going to ruin your pizza," Bea heckles, jumping off the desk and walking toward the door. Dante scrunches his face at Bea before grabbing his red jacket from the coat hanger and tossing it onto his shoulder. He slowly walks toward the door, pausing to glance as something else falls to the floor.

"I can already tell, looks like this is gonna be one hell of a party!" Dante grins, kicking down the front door.


	2. Chapter 2

The doors fly off the hinges and in to the desolated streets as Dante strides out. Bea sighs and follows sedately, looking up and down the street as Hell Prides drag themselves about. Several Hell Prides stop and turn toward them, focusing on Dante as he looks up and down the street. He walks out of the door way and turns, getting a look at the damaged store front.

"Damn it!" He snaps as Bea strolls over to his side, "You guys totally wrecked our shop! And we haven't even named it yet." Dante grits his teeth in irritation as Bea eyes the damage.

"It's not… too bad…" Bea offers, wincing as small pebbles fall from the top of the entrance way. Dante turns toward the demons with a snarl, ignoring Bea's hesitant optimism.

"You're gonna pay for that," he threatens, tossing Rebellion into the air. Bea rolls her eyes as Dante whips his coat around, sliding one arm in the sleeve, then sliding the other arm into the other sleeve. In a second of dramatics, he pushes the back of his jacket up, making it appear to float behind him like a cape, and raises his hand, catching Rebellion by the hilt on the way down. Swinging Rebellion, Dante points the tip down and strikes a pose. Bea snorts and rolls her eyes as she slowly claps as her friend's little show. Dante's head rises slightly, causing Bea to pause her sarcastic clapping, before he lets out a soft sneeze. What remained of the store front collapses behind them, getting a jump from Bea and Dante to turn and look in horror at the destruction of what would have been their business. Turning back to the demons, Dante growls, "I hope you all have enough to cover all this!"

"If they don't, we can still relieve some stress," Bea reminds him, drawing her blades and giving them a quick rotation. The scowl on Dante's face shifted to an angry grin as he looks at all the demons. The Hell Prides lurch at them, causing Dante and Bea to roll out of the way. Bea turns her roll into a flip to decapitate two Hell Prides as Dante slices through four more. Abruptly, more Hell Prides arrive with some Hell Lusts, growling and hissing at the two.

"Oh joy, looks like they brought friends," Bea comments, shoving her blades through the chest of a Hell Pride and swinging out, cutting the demon in half.

"Good, maybe they have the money to help pay for the damages," Dante grunts, pulling out Ebony and Ivory to shoot a Hell Lust in the head as he kicks a Hell Pride off. Bea hums, sliding under a Hell Lust's scythe and decapitating it as she stands back up.

"I don't know. Pretty sure these guys don't carry wallets," Bea points out, squeaking as a Hell Lust takes a swipe at her. She pulls out a glock and puts two bullets in it's head as Dante curses up a storm as he cuts down multiple demons. A low groan echoes from behind Bea, causing her to turn just in time for the sack on a Hell Wrath to explode.

"FUCK!" Bea yells as she flies past Dante, into a pile of rubble, as he dispatches the last Hell Lust near him. Dante actually stops and stares, even as more Hell Lusts appear.

"Huh. Didn't know you were so in love with me that you'd fly to my rescue," Dante jokes, shooting one of the Hell Lusts in the head. Bea flips Dante off as she pulls herself out of the rubble, dusting herself off before spinning and kicking the head of a Hell Lust that was trying to get the jump on her.

"Stop being an ass- DANTE!" she cries, tackling him just as another Hell Lust swings it's scythe right where Dante's neck had been.

"Ow! Shit!" Dante grumbles, turning enough to fire at the Hell Lust, eventually causing it to deteriorate into sand.

"Sorry," Bea apologizes, rolling off Dante and kicking a Hell Lust where it's genitals would have been before standing and decapitating it. Another Hell Wrath appears, groaning and walking slowly towards the duo. Bea fires at it, then ducks as it explodes, taking out all the other demons and sending Dante into the rubble from the force of the blast.

"See, not so funny now, is it?" Bea snarks, as she takes out multiple Hell Prides. Dante groans and pushes himself out of the rubble, brushing off his jacket.

"Okay, I see your point," Dante admits, slicing through the last few Hell Lusts. Bea huffs and grins, only to stop and spin around, staring at the rooftop of a nearby building. Dante looks up as well, watching as a dark energy moves closer to them. It stops on a closer rooftop and a Hell Vanguard appears with a cackle of laughter.

"Well that's not fuckin' weird," Bea huffs, stretching her back as the Hell Vanguard teleports to them. It lunges at them, swinging it's scythe left and right, still cackling madly. Bea jumps out of the way, pulling out both of her glocks and firing at the demon as Dante rushes behind it and attacks it's back. The Hell Vanguard howls in pain and teleports away, reappearing right beside Bea.

"Holy-!" She exclaims, rolling out of the way as the Hell Vanguard brought it's scythe down where Bea was crouched. Dante rushes past Bea and starts attacking all the soft spots he can get Rebellion to touch. Bea gets a good distance away and starts pelting the Hell Vanguard with bullets again.

"How about you stay right here?" Dante snaps, finally getting a big opening in the Hell Vanguard's moves. He shoves Rebellion straight through it's abdomen, getting a cry of pain from the demon before it disintegrates. Bea sighs in relief and holsters the two glocks, strolling over to Dante and patting him on the back.

"I think we did a good job, huh?" Bea asks, bumping into Dante's arm and grinning. Dante snorts and opens his mouth when the ground begins to shake.

"What the hell?" Dante mutters, widening his stance to not fall. Bea falls into his arms with a yelp of surprise. The road ahead of them splits open, causing buildings to crumble and car alarms to go off as they fall into the crack. After a second of destruction, something rises from the hole. A tower rises over the city, so high that Bea and Dante almost miss the person standing at the top of the tower, staring down at them.

"Is that-?" Bea cuts herself off as Dante strides toward the tower, following him closely. He stop about three blocks from the front of the tower, looking up with a cocky smirk.

"It's been nearly a year since we last met. Where does the time go?" he mockingly asks, staring up at the tower. The man at the top doesn't reply as Bea stops behind Dante, looking up at the man in confusion. The duo startle as the Hell Vanguard groans from behind them, both pulling out their guns. The Hell Vanguard ignores them, however, teleporting toward the tower. After a moment, they both holster their guns and start their walk to the tower.

"No doubt you've got some fun planned for us. Right Vergil?" Dante yells rhetorically as they walk.


	3. Chapter 3

At the top of the tower, Vergil looks down on the city, watching the humans scurry about while Dante and Beatrice continue toward the tower. Hearing footsteps behind him, Vergil doesn't turn as the man who gave the duo their invitations approaches behind him.

"Arkham," Vergil acknowledges.

"Well? Doesn't it excite you? The Temen-ni-gru has revived, the Great one who once ruled this earth as the medium between the Human World and the Demon World," Arkham praises, looking at the statues in wonder. He turns to Vergil and asks, "Isn't it a magnificent view?" When Vergil doesn't reply, Arkham continues, "The greatest minds of their time, those who revered Evil, constructed this glorious edifice. Now, after two millenniums of confinement, it can at last fulfill the purpose for what it was intended-"

"That's none of my concern," Vergil stops Arkham's rant, his eyes never leaving the city, "Did he have it?"

"Of course," Arkham intones, "He's taking good care of it. After all, it is the only memento left from the mother you both lost." Vergil grasps the pendent hanging from his neck and holds it up, looking at the fading light reflecting off the red jewel.

"But he has no idea of its true power," Vergil states, looking back out to the city and letting the pendent go, allowing it to swing back into place. The Hell Vanguard leaps up the tower, landing in front of Vergil and wailing. Vergil turns and walks away, even as the Hell Vanguard continues to wail and shuffle after him. Abruptly stopping, he draws his blade, Yamato, and drives it back, into the Hell Vanguard. The demon's wailing stops as Vergil sheaths Yamato and continues on his way, not even glancing behind as the Hell Vanguard bursts into pieces and sand. Arkham, however, watches the Hell Vanguards remains fall down the tower, silent.

* * *

A large piece of the Hell Vanguard lands not too far from a young woman on a red motorcycle. She lowers her sunglasses and mumbles, "I found it!" Several Hell Prides and a Hell Lust drag themselves toward the woman, gasping and moaning as she revs up the engine on her motorcycle, causing flames to escape the exhaust pipe. She takes off, lighting the small squad on fire, as she drives toward the tower. The demons groan in pain before collapsing, their bodies continuing to burn.

* * *

Dante and Bea walk down 66 Slum Avenue, stopping as Enigmas drop down from the sky. The two demons focus on the pair, spinning their crossbow-arms and firing off an energy arrow.

"Whoops!" Dante chirps, rolling out of the way as Bea deflects an arrow with one of her swords, before throwing the other at the Enigma, slicing through it's neck and effectively decapitating it.

"Well, glad to know my aim is getting better," she comments, raising her hand and pausing to concentrate, eventually calling the blade back to her. Dante huffs out a laugh as he draws Ebony and Ivory, firing at the other Enigma until it falls off it's perch.

"I thought you had great aim," Dante comments, dodging a Hell Pride's scythe before slicing it in half easily. Bea sighs through her nose, dodging another Hell Pride before kicking it into a deserted building.

"With my glocks? Sure. With my swords? Ehhh…" she trails off with a shrug, flipping over another Hell Pride and landing on a different Hell Pride. Dante makes a noise of understanding as he fires at the Hell Wrath that just appeared before them. Both hunters duck as the Hell Wrath exploded, taking a few Hell Prides and Hell Lusts with it. They stand back up, back to back, and draw their guns, firing into the group of demons. Dante starts humming a tune as Bea clicks her tongue in irritation.

"You'd think they would know not to attack us," she mutters, taking a headshot on a Hell Lust. Dante snorts, offering, "I don't think these guys are smart enough to even spread the word." Bea sighs, holstering her glocks as Dante takes down the last Hell Lust. The two look around the destroyed street, Dante frowning as Bea taps her mouth thoughtfully, looking for a way to enter the tower. He stops abruptly, his eyebrows rising, as he notices the door to Bullseye Bar.

"Hey, Bea. Bullseye has a back entrance, right?" Dante asks. Bea huffs and rolls her eyes, easily recalling what building is connected to Bullseye.

"Yes, Dante. Bullseye has an entrance that leads into Love Planet, which leads to… the other… street…" Bea trails off, her eyes widening as Dante's question starts to make sense.

"I could kiss you," Bea whispers, rushing past the now preening Dante and into the empty bar. He follows close behind, his smile smug as Bea hurries toward the other entrance. She stops when a blue shield suddenly appears in front of the back entrance. Dante blinks in surprise and turns behind him, seeing the same shield over the doors they just walked through.

"You've got to be kidding me," Dante groans as Bea examines the shield with a frown.

"It looks like something is making the shield," Bea observes, stepping away from the shield and looking around the bar. Dante groans and leans against the wall with the dartboards, complaining, "This is stupid. Why would something want to keep us here?"

"To force us to fight in a confined space and possibly hurt each other?" Bea offers, walking over to the bar and looking at the underside. Dante groans again and thumps his head against the wall behind him, getting a muted echo. He stills before knocking on the wall behind him with his knuckles, the hollow sound still persisting. Dante takes a step forward before spinning and kicking the wall, causing it to collapse and reveal a wheel of some sort.

"Hey, Bea. The fuck's this?" Dante calls over to his friend. Bea stops her investigation of the bar and walks over to Dante's side, blinking at the wheel.

"I… don't know…" Bea admits, stepping toward it and looking the thing over. Dante scowls at the wheel before drawing Rebellion and smacking the wheel, barely missing Bea in the process.

"Dammit Dante! Have a little…" she trails off again as the wheel gains a flame. The two share a look before they switch places and Dante attacks the wheel again and again with Rebellion. Once it has eight flames lit up, the blue shield shatters, allowing them to pass through.

"Well, then," Bea comments, walking back to the door. Dante follows, pausing when he spots the shotgun hanging beside the door.

"We could always use more fire power, right?" Dante asks, gently lifting the shotgun from it's perch on the wall. Bea stops as she barely opens the door, her brows furrowing, "Well, yeah we could-", she cuts herself off with a groan when she turns and sees Dante holding the shotgun, moaning, "Dante, no."

"Dante, yes," Dante counters with a grin, somehow holstering the shotgun. Bea throws her hands in the air and walks through the door, into Love Planet, ignoring Dante's smug smirk. She heads toward the entrance of Love Planet, only for a red shield to pop up in front of this door. Groaning, Bea takes a few steps back, bumping into Dante.

"Wha-" Bea is cut off by growling coming from above them. Looking up, the pair see a trio of Hell Sloths, which teleport down to them and attack. Bea leaps out of the way as Dante parries one of the scythes and barely dodges the other two scythes. He then cuts off one of the Hell Sloth's legs as Bea barely catches one in the arm before the three teleport.

"Seriously?" Dante complains, rolling out of the way of the, now one armed, Hell Sloth. Bea huffs and jumps over the complete Hell Sloth, catching it's neck with her feet, and uses the momentum to flip the demon onto its head. Quickly drawing her blades, she moves to stab it only for the demon to teleport away.

"You've got to be fucking joking," Bea groans, dropping into a split to dodge the swing of a Hell Sloth's scythe. Dante stabs it through the abdomen and jerks Rebellion up, causing the Hell Sloth to dissipate.

"Is it your dad's fault you curse so much for an angel?" Dante asks, parrying another attack for the one-legged Hell Sloth.

"You know the answer to that," Bea groans, slamming her fist into the Hell Sloth's neck before finally decapitating it. Dante snorts, timing his swing to cut the Hell Sloth in two. Some Hell Prides appear, groaning and growling. Bea huffs again, drawing her glocks and firing, taking out three Hell Prides. At the sound of a groan behind her, she turns just in time to catch Dante killing a Hell Sloth.

"Keep up," Dante taunts, jumping on the stage and taking out more Hell Prides and Hell Sloths, missing Bea's mocking repeat as she gets a headshot on a Hell Sloth. The two continue to fight the waves of enemies until all the demons are finally dead, with the red shield shattering.

"Well, that was annoying," Bea huffs, stretching and moaning happily as her back pops. Dante grins, cracking his neck.

"I think this is going to be one hell of a party," he comments gleefully.

"You would, wouldn't you?" Bea replies dryly, rolling her eyes again as they exit Love Planet. Once they step outside, they both look up at the tower, getting a low whistle from Dante and a hum of thought from Bea.

"You think someone was compensating for something when they built this?" Dante asks as they walk to the tower. Bea groans and buries her head into her hands, ignoring Dante's immature snickering as they walk up to the tower entrance. Dante kicks down the door and mockingly bows, causing Bea to roll her eyes.

"You're such a gentleman," she comments, passing by Dante without seeming to notice that his eyes were firmly on her butt.

"Yup, that's me," he agrees, drawing his eyes away from her butt and grins. She huffs and starts toward the other side of the iced over chamber, stopping when the ice sculpture starts to tremble and break apart, revealing a three headed dog. The demon dog drags itself forward, as far as it's chains will let it and growls at the duo. It raises it's head and howls, shooting ice at both Dante and Bea. Dante cuts through the ice with Rebellion while Bea flips over it. The hound looks at the two of them and growls again.

"Leave now, mortal! The likes of you are forbidden in this land! You who are powerless are not worthy to set foot here," the demon snarls, inches away from Dante's face.

"Wow, I've never seen a talking mutt before," Dante comments.

"Yes, you have," Bea corrects before asking the demon, "Hey, Scooby! Where's the mystery machine and the gang?" Dante snorts and rolls his eyes as the demon looks offended.

"Nah, that doesn't count," Dante tells her, turning back to the demon and telling it, "You know, in a dog show, you'd definitely take first place."

"You, mere humans, make a mockery of me?!" the demon growls. Bea snorts and calls out, "Yes!" while Dante grins. The demon releases a blast of ice, sealing the way back out, causing both Dante and Bea to look at what was the door then each other.

"Easy Fido," Dante tells the demon, facing it once again, "How about I take you out for a walk?" He leans down and claps his hands, mockingly cooing, "C'mon puppy, let's go!"

"You'll regret this, you worm!" the demon roars, lowering its heads with a growl.

"It's show time," Dante announces, jumping from side to side and throwing a few jabs out, "Come on!" The demon moves from side to side, not flinching as Dante peppers its heads with bullets, before lunging forward, barely missing Bea as she pulls out her own glocks and fires at the ice protecting it. It is then dragged back into place by the chains holding it and starts to rotate its heads.

"I don't think that's healthy," Bea comments, just as the middle head's eyes flash blue and it spits a chunk of ice at Dante.

"Pretty sure demons don't care about healthy, Bea!" Dante calls back, dodging the ice chunk before moving in with Rebellion and taking a few swings at the demon. He moves out of the way when it lifts its paw and slams it down, creating a line of ice crystals protruding from the floor before they shatter. Dante and Bea continue to fire at the demon as it shakes its heads, rotates them, and howls after its eyes flash yellow. Bea huffs and flips out of the way as icicles fall from the ceiling and try to impale her. She then skids by the demon, cutting it with her swords as she passes. The demon just growls and slams its paw against the floor again, giving Bea just enough time to jump over the ice as it appears.

"This thing isn't going to stop," Bea growls, skidding to a stop beside Dante. He grins, eyeing the open necks just above the collars holding the demon in place.

"I think I know how to make it stop," Dante tells her, running straight toward the demon, ignoring Bea's cry. Jumping over the heads, Dante grabs one of the collars, lands and starts hacking away at the neck. Bea jumps for cover as a chunk of ice gets blasted her way while the head Dante is attacking wails in pain. Suddenly, the head drops, bringing Dante with it as it shatters on the ground. The other heads roar and snarl, turning to Dante, giving Bea a chance to attack a different head. She draws her swords and starts slicing into the neck. The heads rotate again, leaving the head partially on as they turn to growl at Bea and fire another chunk of ice at her. Dante uses Rebellion to finish decapitating the head while Bea fires her glocks at the remaining head. The demon slides back, painfully, growling, "You are not human, are you?"

"Who knows? I'm not even sure myself," Dante admits as Bea stretches again, moaning happily as her joints pop.

"Regardless, you have proved your strength. I acknowledge your ability. Take my soul and go forth! You have my blessing!" With that, the demon growls then howls one last time, shattering and revealing a bright light. Dante watches the light slowly float down to him before reaching out and touching the light, getting a trio of nunchucks.

"Oh sweet baby Jesus no," Bea mutters as Dante grins and starts to show off, spinning the trio and attacking invisible enemies before striking a pose with the three spread out, bragging, "Too easy."

"You're a freakin' braggart," Bea sighs, walking toward the door the demon was guarding only to stop and look at the frozen entrance curiously. Dante also turns as a young woman on a motorcycle crashes through the top of the entrance. Dante jumps out of the way, looking at the woman and noting her different colored eyes. He lands and turns to the woman as she lands her motorcycle in front of Bea.

"Are you going to the party? What's the hurry, didn't ya get an invitation?" Dante asks. The woman doesn't even turn as she pulls the large gun from her back and fires a missile at Dante. Bea sighs and Dante dodges then proceeds to ride the missile around the room, gleefully cheering before hopping off as the missile destroys the grate above the room.

"Whoo!" Dante exclaims, pumping his fist. He starts to walk toward the woman while Bea just huffs behind him. The woman glares at Dante, making him smirk and raise an eyebrow, before she revs her engine and makes a jump, just in front of Dante. She lands on the floor above them and takes off, the sound of her motor disappearing. Dante turns to look at the hole while Bea sighs.

"This just keeps getting better and better," Dante mutters.

"Pretty sure it's not," Bea argues, rolling her eyes again.


	4. Chapter 4

The sun finished setting hours ago, yet Vergil still stands at the top of the Temen-ni-gru, his eyes closed as he listens to the quiet city and its people. Arkham reads though a worn book, eyes idly skimming the words as he flips the pages. Vergil opens his eyes with a frown, announcing, "Looks like we have an uninvited guest."

"Is that so?" Arkham asks, still flipping through the book. Vergil continues, "A human, a woman." Arkham closes the book with a soft thud, straightening up with a frown of his own.

"I'm afraid I should ask the uninvited one to leave," Arkham announces, standing. Vergil doesn't reply, looking out over the city as Arkham walks toward him and adds, "That is what you want." When Vergil doesn't reply to the addition, Arkham sighs.

"Actually, I happen to be acquainted with that woman," Arkham admits. Vergil nods his head, his eyes never leaving the city, even as Arkham walks away.

"A storm is approaching," Arkham growls, the burns on the side of his face shifting. Vergil finally takes his eyes off the city to watch Arkham leave out of the corner of his eye. The man walked to the doors, his burns still shifting with each step. Vergil turns back to the city, sighing, "Beatrice."

* * *

The doors that the demon guard dog protected leads Dante and Bea into a tall room with numerous stairs and doors. Dante lets out a low whistle while Bea tilts her head back, silently mouthing the number of stair wells she can see.

"This is the kind of room that could be used for fun," Dante jokes, waggling his eyebrows as he grins at Bea. Bea gives him her best unimpressed face, only for Dante to cackle and smack her on the back.

"You're incorrigible," she sighs, heading over to a staircase and starting the climb up. Dante snickers as he follows behind her, taking the steps two at a time to easily over take Bea and reach the top of the flight of stairs first. Bea pouts before letting out a huff of laughter and grinning back at Dante as he walks backwards up the ramp.

"Keep up, slow poke," Dante teases, rushing off before Bea could say anything else. He jumps up the small set of stairs leading to the next flight, then runs up the ramp, toward the teal door. Before he could make it, Bea jumps in front of the door, white wings fluttering before dissipating into soft light. Dante slows and stops in front of her, pouting.

"That was cheating," he whines, still opening the door. Bea snorts, pulling out her glocks before walking through the doorway, arguing, "No, that was using my resources." Dante groans as he pulls out Ebony and Ivory, joining Bea as she starts firing at the Hell Prides in the stairwell. The two kill all the demons hanging in the stairwell before heading to the doors at the end of the hallway. Opening the doors, Bea furrows her brow and frowns, stepping into the room cautiously. Dante follows her closely, letting the door close behind them. At the sound of something coming together behind them, the duo turn as a red shield appears over the door they just came through.

"Fantastic," Dante sighs as Bea glares at the Enigmas that start to move from their spots as statues and load their crossbows.

"Don't get excited yet," Bea huffs, just before jumping out of the way as an arrow as the Enigmas load more arrows. Dante dodges and fires at the Enigma on a pedestal while Bea focuses on the one on the left. Once those two drop, both hunters turn their attention on the remaining Enigma, showering it in bullets. When that Enigma drops, more Enigmas appear to fire down at the two while Hell Lusts ran around the room.

"You go up, I stay down?" Bea offers. Dante only smirks and jumps up to attack the Enigmas, getting a sigh from Bea as she attacks the Hell Lusts.

"Hey, Bea! How many of these guys have we taken out so far?" Dante yells down, easily dodging an Enigma's fire and slicing it in half.

"I don't know! I'm not keeping count," Bea snaps back, rolling out of the way of a Hell Lust's attack to decapitate a different Hell Lust, a soft light glowing around her as she moves faster than before. Dante groans, jumping off the edge and getting two Enigmas in the heads with headshots from Ivory and Ebony.

"I thought you were the brains of our operation. Don't tell me, I have to be the triad on my own," Dante whines mockingly. Bea snarls, cutting through two more Hell Lusts, growling, "You can barely handle one and a half of the Brawn-Brain-Beauty triad. Like hell you can handle the whole thing!"

"Yeesh. Touchy," Dante mumbles as the red shield shatters on the exit. Bea jumps to the exit and stumbles, growling to herself as Dante leaps up and pulls her to himself.

"I can't believe I forgot how woozy using that makes me," she huffs, leaning against Dante for support. Dante loops her arm over his neck, asking, "You need me to carry you or just my support?"

"Just your suppoRT!" Bea yelps as she almost falls into Dante's chest. Dante raises an eyebrow as Bea sighs again and grits out, "Just pick me up and don't say a thing."

"Your wish is my command," Dante jokes, lifting Bea into a bridal carry and walking out the red door. They enter a room with a lot of statues, getting a click of the tongue from Bea.

"Brilliant. A puzzle room," Bea sighs, rubbing at her temples with one hand. Dante grins at her and sets her down before smashing one of the statues. He continues to destroy the statues as Bea starts to regain her footing. Once the last statue is destroyed, Dante turns to see Bea attack the strange wheel on the wall. Once all eight flames appear, an elevator rises from the center of the room.

"Going up," Dante calls, holding his hand out as the elevator breaks through its rusty holds on the rails. Bea jumps and catches his hand, just as the elevator gets up to speed and practically flies up.

"Whoa. This is ridiculous," Bea comments as the elevator begins to slow to the opening above them. Dante hums in agreement as it come to a complete stop in a room with clockwork and a green door directly across from them.

"It's a trap," Dante whispers as two Hell Gluttonies appear and roar at the two of them. Bea sighs, "Brilliant," before they jump out of the way of a slew of sand the demons spew from their mouths. Dante slashes down one of the Hell Gluttonies while Bea fires her glocks at the other, filling the Hell Gluttony with holes. Once those two are killed, four more Hell Gluttonies appear, lumbering toward them.

"Hey, look! More punching bags," Dante cheers, shoving Rebellion through the torso of one of the Hell Gluttonies. Bea grits out, "Ode to joy," as she blocks an attack and kicks another Hell Gluttony away before decapitating her attacker. Dante summons Cerberus and takes out the last two Hell Gluttonies with the nun-chuck, barely dodging a newly summoned Hell Sloth. Groaning, Bea jumps up, catching the Hell Sloth's head between her feet and flipping it on to its head, killing it with surprisingly little fuss. Another Hell Sloth appears behind her, only for Dante to thrust Rebellion through its chest.

"Saved your life," Dante jokes, sheathing Rebellion and holding out his hand for Bea. She rolls her eyes at his joke, even though her mouth twitches, and heads toward the door.

"Let's go, you loser," Bea teases, opening the door. The two enter what looks like a copy of the first hall, with a chained statue of some sort of angel at the top floor. Dante starts to jog up with Bea following close behind, shivering and looking around nervously.

"It feels like something is watching us. Do you think Vergil has demons monitoring us?" Bea asks. Dante snorts, glancing behind him to reply, "Naw, he wouldn't waste time on something like that. If we make it, we make it. If we die, we die. He doesn't really care." Bea's eyebrows shot up as they arrive at a large gap in the floor.

"I guess that makes sense… Even though I don't think that's what Vergil would do…" Bea mumbles her argument as Dante jumps across. Bea flies over the gap, dispelling her wings as she lands, and looks at the yellow-ish door.

"With Vergil how he is now, we don't know what he will do," Dante points out. Bea sighs and nods as he opens the door. The room they enter has a long stair case, connecting the platform they were on to one above them. On the platform they're on, a red barrier covers the door they just entered and the large red door beside them, leaving only the door on the platform above them open. Bea frowns at the sight of the stairs.

"I don't think that's very safe," she comments, shifting nervously.

"Do we have any other way?" Dante asks. Bea pursed her lips in reply before starting to climb the stairs, Dante right behind her. Halfway up, the stairs crumble beneath them, startling a yelp from Bea and a yell from Dante. Twisting in midair, Bea grabs Dante's arm and activates her wings, wincing as a wave of dizziness washes over her, the warning that she's been over using her powers despite the short time.

"Shit. Bea, just drop me," Dante snaps, gritting his teeth when she shook her head. He flinches as Bea's flight stutters, leaving her gasping as she tries to fly them to the higher platform. Pulling himself up with one arm, Dante wraps his arm around Bea and her wings, effectively sending them plummeting to the floor below. Holding Bea close, Dante lands and rolls, dodging a swipe from the Hell Sloth's scythe.

"Shit, hang on," Bea mumbles, shifting in Dante's arms while drawing Ebony and Ivory from their holsters, firing a few rounds at a Hell Wrath. The giant sack on its back explodes, taking out a few Hell Lusts and knocking over a Hell Sloth.

"Nice," Dante compliments, setting Bea down and taking back his guns. He leaps at the Hell Sloth, firing a bullet straight into its head then dodging another Hell Sloth. Holstering his guns, Dante draws out Rebellion, slashing at the other Hell Sloth until is bursts into sand. Jumping over a third Hell Sloth, Dante flinches at the sound of another small explosion. Sparing a glance as he runs the Hell Sloth through with Rebellion, he lets out a sigh of relief at Bea fire a bullet into her own Hell Sloth's head. A third Hell Wrath drops down, along with multiple Hell Lusts, a bit too close to Dante. It moans and the sack begins to glow on its back, shocking Dante.

"Oh, F- UCK!" Dante gasps as Bea tackles him, the two of them barely escaping the explosion as it wipes out the Hell Lusts. Bea pushes herself up, onto her forearms, grinning down at him and breathing out, "Saved your life." Dante chuckles, letting a lazy grin cross his face.

"Yes you did," he agrees, waiting for her to roll off his chest before rising himself. Once the two of them were standing, they see a portal appear in the center of the room.

"On the plus side, I think I know why I'm losing my power so quickly," Bea announces as they hesitantly enter the portal.

"Oh?" Dante hums once they exit back at the platform they were on before they fell. She hums in reply as the red barriers shatter, explaining, "This is pretty much a demonic sight. My powers, while angelic and holy, can't do much in what is essentially the demonic cathedral."

"Well, that's interesting," Dante comments as he pushes open the large red door.

"Interesting and problematic," Bea agrees. The two snap to attention at the sound of multiple flapping wings, turning in time to see a Gigapede fly through the room, toward a hole beneath the elevated area they're standing on.

"Okay, ew," Bea comments as Dante grins. He jumps down, landing on the Gigapede as it flies into the hole, and starts to hack away at its body. The demon shrieks and turns, dropping Dante onto the ground. Bea leans down and holds out her hand, waiting for Dante to grab it before pulling him up to the platform as the Gigapede exits a hole on the other side of the room.

"This is going to be a pain in the ass to kill," she comments idly, pulling out her glocks to fire a number of rounds at the Gigapede, squeaking with surprise as it fires orbs at them. They dodge the orbs as the Gigapede flies back into the hole.

"Hang on, I got a plan," Dante tells her, running to the other hole and jumping onto the Gigapede as soon as it shows up, summoning Cerberus and starts attacking it, chipping away at its body.

"THAT'S YOUR PLAN?!" Bea yells, even as she starts to fire on the demon again. Dante grins, continuing his assault on the Gigapede until it flipped over, dropping him to the floor. He scrambles up the platform and jumps, just in time for the Gigapede to come out of the hole. It shrieks as Dante continues to attack it, before finally separating and dissolving into sand. Dante lands easily, smirking and chuckling to himself when Bea joins him.

"Well, that was tedious," she huffs, walking toward the door on the ground floor.

"No, that was awesome," Dante argues. Bea glances over her shoulder, raising an eyebrow in reply. Dante pouts and whines, "But it was." Bea just opens the door, blinking as they enter a room with an alcove holding an Astronomical Board and some sort of switch beside the other door. Bea picks up the board while Dante walks over to the door. He pushes it, but it won't budge. Dante scoffs and turns away, taking a few steps away from the door before quickly turning back and hitting it with a jump kick. The only thing that does is make Bea flinch at the echoing clang and Dante curse under his breath. Dante glares at the door, nodding as he walks backwards before pulling out his guns.

"Yoo hoo!" a man sings from behind Bea. Both Dante and Bea spin around, looking at the strangely dressed demon grinning at them.

"There's no need to use violence, devil boy," he begins, strolling toward Dante. Dante huffs and with a twirl of his guns, aims at the door again.

"Wait, Dante!" Bea exclaims.

"Better listen to what others say, lad," the demon agrees, moving in front of Dante. Bea hurries to Dante's side, resting her hand on his shoulder. Dante rolls his eyes, as the demon continues, "This tower here is very sturdy," he pauses to whack the door a few times with his little scepter, turning back and hissing, "You see?" He straightens up and looks almost reverently at the door.

"Your tricks will do no good," the demon states. He lunges at Bea, yelling, "No good!" Bea and Dante both point their guns at the demon, with Dante snapping, "Zip it, or I'll pierce that big nose."

"That could be a problem," the demon mumbles from Dante's gun on his nose and Bea's at his head. He slides away from the gun and sidles up to Dante, coaxing, "Just hear me out. You've got nothing to lose, right?" Dante pauses, glancing a Bea, who hesitantly nods and holsters her gun, before lowering his gun.

"My name is Jester, and I know a thing or two about this place," the demon introduces, giving both Dante and Bea a sweeping bow. He points at the switch, explaining, "That thing there is a power generator for this entire sector. In order to open the door, you need to apply a little _something_ to it first." Dante looks at Jester with a scowl while Bea watches him warily.

"Do you know what that is, kid? Or is that too difficult for you?" Jester mocks, idly swinging his scepter in circles before cackling. Dante starts firing at Jester's feet, a scowl on his face as he snaps, "Get to the point. Or do you wanna keep dancing?" Jester starts dancing the Charleston when Dante finally stops firing. The demon huffs and wheezes, waving his scepter near his face to cool down, before straightening.

"Actually, I prefer a sword to be my partner. May I have this dance, My lady?" Jester asks with a bow. Dante huffs, drawing Rebellion and swinging down, hitting the switch when Jester dodges. The door rumbles open as they hear Jester shout, "Bingo!" They turn and spot Jester standing, upside down, on the ceiling above them.

"That is what the something is. Remember that, kid. Write it down on your hand if you don't trust your head," Jester cackles, yelping as Bea starts firing at him, a scowl on her face. Jester starts dancing his way out of the room, dodging Bea's firing. She only stops once he's completely out, huffing with annoyance.

"I see, thanks," Dante accepts, smirking at Bea. She groans and rubs her face with her hands.

"God, he was so annoying," Bea moans, walking to the open door.

"Yeah, he still pissed me off," Dante agrees, following close behind.


	5. Chapter 5

Guess who's late? ME! Sorry about that.

* * *

Arriving in the room, Bea and Dante look around the room idly. They walk up to what appears to be a fountain when Jester calls out, "Thanks for destroying the lock for me, devil boy! And welcome to Hell!" The fountain fills with blood, the smell causing Bea to scrunch up her nose in disgust.

"Please accept my gift. Don't be humble, just take it! After all we're buddies, aren't we?" Jester jeers as the blood over flows from the fountain, waking the Blood-Goyles underneath. The demons drop the fountain to fly around the room, swooping near Bea and Dante while screeching. One tries to dive at Dante, only for him to toss up Rebellion. It spins in the air, scaring away two Blood-Goyles, before he catches it and slices off the wing of one of the demons. The Blood-Goyle flies into the wall while the other two circle Bea and Dante.

"Oh goodie, presents," Bea snarks, drawing her Glocks while watching the Blood-Goyles warily. Dante smirks, swinging Rebellion up idly.

"Well, isn't that special? To be honest, I was expecting something a little better than this," Dante admits, resting Rebellion across his shoulders. Bea sighs and fires a few rounds at the Blood-Goyles, watching them turn back into stone and drop to the ground.

"Those should be broken," Bea pouts as Dante jumps over her and slices through the stone, killing the demons.

"They're demonic, babe. You should have expected it," Dante points out, rolling out of the way of another Blood-Goyle. Bea groans as more Blood-Goyles fly in. She fires at the demons, grinning when one turns into stone over a pit and drops, shattering at the bottom.

"That is what was supposed to happen," she laughs, jumping onto a Blood-Goyle and shooting at its brethren. Dante looks up at her with a smirk as he slices through the ones turned to stone, commenting, "You're more sadistic than you have any right to be."

"Kiss my ass, Dante," Bea calls down, finally firing a bullet into the Blood-Goyle she is riding on. It turns into stone and Bea steers it into the ground, rolling off the bird once it crashes. Dante snorts, slicing through more of the demons with little effort. Once the final Blood-Goyle is killed, a portal appears, crackling with energy.

"Dibs!" Dante shouts, jumping into the portal without waiting for Bea. The portal closes behind him, leaving Bea alone.

"Well… Shit. What do I do now?" she asks aloud as a shadow passes overhead.

Dante lands on a stage with a grunt, looking around curiously.

"Hey, Bea. You think this place can hold an audience?" Dante asks, turning to look behind him. He blinks when he realizes that Bea isn't there with him.

"Huh," he mumbles to himself as a sigil glows in the center of the stage, summoning Jester, or maybe a look-a-like.

"Welcome to hell!" it crows, bowing at Dante. Dante scowls and shifts his weight, drawing Ebony and Ivory to fire at the demon. Jester cackles and dodges the shots, ending up at the edge of the stage. Dante dashes over, swinging Rebellion down on Jester multiple times before the demon teleports back to the center of the stage. With a growl, Dante starts firing Ebony and Ivory at Jester again. The demon summons three portals that summon electric looking balls that bounce.

"Are you serious?" Dante mutter, dodging the balls as he continues to fire at Jester, waiting for the demon to flee back to the edge of the stage. Once again, Dante attacks Jester with Rebellion, scowling as the demon releases confetti with each strike.

"Why aren't you dying?" he growls, spinning as Jester teleports to a different edge of the stage. Jester summons another portal, this one sending out a spray of electric balls.

"Oh come on!" Dante complains, dodging out of the way as the balls bounce past him. Jester cackles, teleporting to Dante in an attempt to take a swing at him, only to start dodging shots from Ebony and Ivory again.

"Stop moving around so much," Dante snaps, cornering Jester again to lay into him with Rebellion. Jester just teleports away, summoning two portals that release a plethora of bouncing balls.

"What is with you and balls?" Dante yells, dodging out of the way. Jester only cackles as the balls finally disappear, trying to attack Dante again only for him to counter with bullets. Once Jester reaches the edge again, Dante lunges at the demon, stabbing Rebellion straight through before swinging toward the center, sending Jester stumbling toward the center. Jester looks himself over, lifting his head to whisper, "oops," before letting out a cackle and waves his scepter around wildly, vanishing from the stage with another sigil. Dante rolls his eyes, strutting to the portal that appeared in the center. Stepping through the portal, Dante finds himself back in the room where he and Bea fought the Blood-Goyles with no sign of Bea.

"Where did she go?" Dante wondered aloud as he jumps up to the ledge to leave the way he came. Entering the room with the collapsed stairway, Dante walks out the yellow doors, re-entering the large room.

"BEA?!" Dante yells, looking around the room.

"DANTE!" he hears her reply from below him. Dante takes a few steps toward the edge, looking down as the shape of what could only be Bea rushed to a glowing circle. Once she gets on the circle, she shoots up in the air, landing above Dante. He hears her footsteps over him before she peeks her head down to his level. Her face softens with relief despite her frown.

"You're a jerk," she huffs, shifting to the side before flipping down to land beside him. Dante lets an easy grin cross his face, teasing, "Were you worried about little ole me?"

"Yes," she deadpans, re-entering the room he just left. Dante jolts at her confession, turning and following her in bewilderment.

"Did you- Really?" Dante asks. Bea tilts her head up and sniffs, ignoring the color creeping into her cheeks as she confesses, "I'm always worried about you, Dante. Don't let it get to your head." Dante nods as Bea squints at the higher level.

"I think…" she mumbles, raising her foot to step into the air.

"Whoa there!" Dante cuts in, grabbing her shoulder and tugging her back. Bea squeaks, causing Dante to pause again as Bea turns on him.

"What the hell! You almost made me fall!" Bea snaps.

"Did you squeak?" Dante asks, watching as Bea's face slowly turns a vibrant red. She turns away with a grumble of "shut up". Normally, Dante would have laughed at her embarrassment, however he's a little concerned about the fact Bea seemed insistent on trying to walk on nothing.

"What were you about to do?" Dante drags the conversation back to the point. Bea points up at the intricate lock and the small space in it.

"I'm pretty sure I need to put this," Bea pauses to pull out a rock-like object, "up there. Something tells me that I should be able to do it."

"Is it your gut?" Dante can't help but ask. She gives him a frown, more like a pout really, before admitting, "yeah, it's my gut."

"Well, how about…" Dante trails off, bracing himself while grabbing her wrist. Bea gives him an unimpressed look before sighing and lifting her foot off the solid ground, into the open air above the chasm below. The air around her foot rippled, but remained firm. Bea looks at her foot, then at Dante.

"This is so weird," she proclaims, stepping up with her other foot. After a moment's hesitation, Dante followed her, the air reacting the same with him. Slowly, the two make it up to the door, not without looking down and feeling nauseous at the height. Arriving at the landing, Dante finally let go of Bea's wrist, bending over and gasping, trying to calm his pounding heart. Glancing up, he doesn't stop the grin that crosses his face at the sight of Bea leaning against the wall, working to control her breathing as well.

"We can handle demons, but see-through stairs throw us. There's a joke in there somewhere," Dante points out. Bea snorts, giving him a grin of her own, as she pushes against the wall to stand up straight. Dante straightens himself as Bea gently places the rock into the lock. The locks jerk apart, slamming back into the sides they came from, and it drops, revealing a door.

"After you," Dante offers with a bow. He could practically feel Bea roll her eyes as she walks into the room. He enters after her, frowning at the silence around them.

"This feels like a trap," he mutters. Bea hums in agreement, her hand on her glocks as they walk over to the elevator. On the wall, another wheel faintly glows, attracting their attention. Glancing at each other, Dante and Bea do a quick round of rock-paper-scissors, which results in Bea's win. With a put upon sigh, Dante attacks the wheel, lighting up all eight of the flames.

"Whoa! Dante!" Bea calls. He turns to see the elevator start to rise, with Bea on it. Running over, he jumps on, grinning as Bea loses her balance and falls onto her bottom.

"Smooth," he comments, snickering as she rolls her eyes. Bea opens her mouth to say something when her eyes widen and she kicks Dante's feet out from under him. Dante lands face first into her stomach as she fires off a round from her glocks.

"You could have just said 'dodge'," Dante grumbles as he rises while Hell Prides appear.

"Would you have dodged?" Bea snaps, kicking one of the demons off the elevator. Dante makes a non-committal noise as he headshots two other Hell Prides.

"There you go," she huffs, ducking under a scythe swing before firing into the demon's chest, sending it tumbling off the elevator. Dante makes a mocking noise as he pulls out Rebellion and takes a large swing at the demons, knocking off three while slicing a fourth in half. Bea shoves Dante's head down, leaping over him to kick two other Hell Prides off the elevator. He grunts in pain, scowling at her while still swinging at the demons.

"A heads up would have been nice," Dante whines, sheathing Rebellion as they reach the top. Bea winces and turns to him, hissing as she gently moves his head and neck.

"Sorry about that. Didn't want you to get hit with those scythes," Bea apologizes, placing her hand on his neck. Dante lets out a huff of laughter as he glances at the faint glow of her hand.

"I've had worse," he points out. Bea huffs, pulling away while arguing, "Just because you've had worse doesn't mean I should let you get stabbed. You're my partner and my friend, I'm not letting you have a repeat of what happened at our shop." Dante smirks, ruffling her hair as they stride outside and down a small flight of stairs. Coming across a pair of doors, the two share a look before Dante pushes open the doors. Bea enters cautiously, her hand resting on her glocks, while Dante struts into the room, looking around curiously. The two large statues tower over the next door, seeming to stand guard with their large swords and the chains wrapped around them.

"Look brother! It's been ages, but we finally have company!" a voice echoes in the room.

"I see that!" another voice echoes, while Bea and Dante look up at the statues in surprise.

"We must entertain our guests," the first voice insists. Dante crosses his arms and glares up at the statues impatiently as the second voice agrees, "You're right! We must be gracious hosts!"

"What should we do?" the first voice asks while Bea raises an eyebrow and cocks her hip at the two.

"How do I know?" the second voice replies as Dante begins pacing. Bea turns and watches him as the voice continues, "We need to come up with something!" Dante sighs in irritation while Bea looks up at the ceiling with a shake of her head.

"Brother, one of our guests is sighing," the first voice points out. The second voice asks, "SIGH? What is SIGH?"

"Well, a SIGH is when…" the first voice starts, only for Dante to cut in with, "Enough already!" Bea sighs and rolls her neck as Dante snarls, "How long are you two gonna keep carrying on like this?"

"Since you didn't get the hint, let us spell it out for you," Bea drawls, striding to stand beside Dante. Dante takes over, motioning at himself and Bea before pointing at the door while explaining, "Your _guests_ want to go through. Got it?" The chamber began to rumble as the second voice explains angrily, "Our job here is to guard this door!"

"That's right! We cannot let you pass!" the first voice agrees. With that, two large headless demons jump down from the statues, one red and the other blue. Bea draws her glocks and starts firing, jumping over the red demon as he charged her. Dante rolls out of the way of the blue demon's strike, drawing Rebellion and slicing at the demon's hand. The head-like figure on the end of the sword's hilt roars, startling Dante.

"What the?" He cries, dodging another swing from the blue demon. Bea flies into him, knocking them both to the ground briefly before they hop up.

"Any ideas, Dante?" Bea mutters, pointing a glock at each demon. He grits his teeth, gripping Rebellion tightly before offering, "knock their sword from their hand."

"What?" she sputters as Dante lunges at the red demon, swinging Rebellion in an upward ark. It connects with the demon's sword with enough force to send the sword flying into the air. While the red demon's body disappeared, the blue demon caught the sword and slammed the heads together, summoning fire and wind.

"Welp, that can't be good," Bea admits, putting her glocks back in their holsters and drawing her butterfly swords, barely blocking an attack from the blue demon. Dante tackles the demon to the side, slicing at its side with Rebellion. The heads wailed in pain as the blue demon turned toward Dante. Bea slid in front of the demon, slamming the hilts of her swords into the demon's hands, sending its swords flying into the air.

"Nice," Dante praises, turning toward the door. Bea huffs and shakes her head, but follows him as the demon swords land blade down and the bodies dissolve.

"Wait!" one of the sword pleads, causing Dante to pause.

"Yes, wait! We have been waiting for a long time," the other sword adds.

"Yes, a very long time," the first sword agrees.

"For someone stronger than us!"

"Someone who can control us!"

"My name is Agni!" the second sword introduces itself.

"And my name is Rudra!" the first sword follows, insisting, "You shall take us with you."

"We could be of great help to you!" they finish together. Dante raises an eyebrow in interest while Bea watches with a slight frown on her face.

"Okay," Dante agrees, "But on one condition."

"What is it? Name it!" the demons eagerly encourage.

"No talking," Dante orders, punctuating the words by pointing at each head.

"Fair enough," Agni agrees while Rudra replies with, "As you wish." Dante grins, getting a hiss of, "Don't you dare, Dante" from Bea and ignoring it to once again, show off his new weapons. He hoots and cheers as he sends waves of flames and blades of wind from the swords, spinning and slashing the air around him. He strikes a pose with a smirk, ignoring Bea's groan behind him.

"Impressive," one of the demons intone. Dante straightens and smacks their head together, repeating, "No talking!" When he gets no reply, he nods and tells them, "Good." Bea groans again.

"Are you done showboating so we can keep going?" she asks. Dante grins, telling her, "Lead the way."


End file.
